Right now, I was a teenager. Stubbornly truthful because I’d learned that people didn’t always know what to do with that when they expected you to try to cover with something else.
Unfortunately, Carter had spent too much time with teenage me.
“That sounds a little territorial, Rosie.”
“How would you like it if you saw me wearing another man’s sweater?” Still teenager.
“I have done, remember?”
I did remember. He’d turned up on a Sunday morning when I’d had a boyfriend stay over. Carter had thought I’d be on my own, and he’d been surprised when I’d answered the door wearing an oversized hoodie and with a bare chested rugby player behind me.
The relationship hadn’t lasted long. It’d been nothing more than attraction and I’d realised I did need to be able to talk about something afterwards.
“You didn’t seem bothered.” I remembered he’d meandered his way into my kitchen and made us all coffees, talking to my overnight guest like he was a pro-rugby pundit.
Carter laughed. “That’s because you weren’t there all the time. You went for a shower.”
I also remembered when I’d come back into the kitchen after the shower it had been very quiet. “What did you say?”
“It doesn’t matter. It was years ago. But no, I didn’t like you wearing another bloke’s clothes.”
“Note made.” My pulse had slowed. My shoulders were no longer pinned at my ears. I was starting to feel more settled about who Laurie was. If she was more than a friend, he’d have changed his shift on Saturday and been at the entirety of the opening. If she was more than a friend, he’d be spending more time with her.
“Laurie was mortified she had that hoodie on, by the way.”
He’d talked to her about me, she’d had some insight. “What does Laurie know about me?”
“Bits. I’ve told her about us being friends, how I know you. I haven’t told her I think she’s a bit like Fallon, so please don’t repeat that.” He coughed again and sounded exhausted.
“I wouldn’t tell anyone that. Carter, what did you say to my rugby player?” I was insanely curious about it.
“You’ll never know. What time tomorrow? Will Harriet be in?”
“I should be home for about seven, so shall we say eight?”
“Eight’s fine.”
“Harriet’s staying at a hotel with her new employer tomorrow night, so she won’t be back. You can tell me what you probably should’ve told me ages ago in private, but that does mean there’ll be no witnesses to what I do with your body.”
The silence made me reconsider my words.
Shit.
Carter started to laugh. I joined in, mortified and happy at the same time, unsure of how the two mixed together.
“I meant what I’d with your corpse.”
“Are you sure?”
“Carter!”
More laughter. “I have a log of all the stuff you’ve said to me over the years like that. Do you want me to read it to you?”
“What? You’ve kept a list?”
“Yep. I was never quite sure how you meant some of the things you said – like that.”
“Now I’m second guessing everything I’ve ever said to you.”
